attitude – Seclusion 101 with AnneMarie

Daily Food Diary – Day 122 of 365

May 3, 2025May 3, 2025 by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

It is 122 Days since I began my Daily Food Diary. This is Day 2 of my focus on tracking saturated fats.

In March, my focus was on tracking protein in my diet. I learned that my diet is high in protein. This did not really surprise me, as I feel like a dishrag if I do not have my protein.

In April, my focus was on tracking sodium and processed sugar. I learned that any amount of processed sugar has a detrimental effect on my respiratory health and that I consume a lot of sodium.

This month, I am focussing on saturated fats. Eliminating saturated fats is important for everyone for heart health, so that obviously includes me!

The challenge here is that animal based products, be it meat, eggs, cheese, milk, etc. are high in saturated fats – except for fish which I prefer to avoid . Plant based, high protein food, like brown beans, are low in saturated fats but high in processed sugar.

This month it will take time, effort and research to maintain the protein in my diet while reducing the saturated fats, while eliminating the processed sugar, and while cutting back on sodium.

Once I have a handle on these four areas of concern in my diet (protein, sodium, processed sugar, and saturated fat), I can start working on all of the vitamins and minerals that we tend to receive from our vegetables and fruits.

I do not expect to ever reach a perfect palatable place in my diet. It is always going to be about balance. But I do expect that as long as I keep up my Daily Food Diary, I will keep learning and making positive adjustments, that will serve me well throughout 2025 – and beyond. ☺️

Daily Food Diary – Day 122

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1) Cashew granola breakfast bar (160) (2.5 grams)

Lunch:

(2) chicken drumsticks (401) (5.8 grams)

(1/2) pkg spicy chicken ramen (190) (3 grams)

Supper:

Nachos:

(6) oz extra lean turkey (221) (2.6 grams)

(1) tbsp taco seasoning (40)

(25) salt free tortilla chips (260) (1 gram)

(5) black olives (18) (.2 grams)

(1) jalapeno (4)

(1/4) c green onions (10)

(1/2) c red pepper (23)

(1/2) c shredded Habanero cheese (240) (12 gram). (we didn’t have a lower saturated fat option – but I did use half as much cheese as I usually do)

Total net calories: 1354

Net calorie goal: 1247 – 1354 = 107 over 👎

Total saturated fats: 27.1 grams

Saturated fat goal: 13.75 👎

That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! ❤️☺️

November 24th – Smile

November 24, 2021November 24, 2021 by annemariedemyen, posted in Wisdom - November 2021

With our overcast skies and the chill in the air, this seems to be a perfect day for a few “words of wisdom” on the ever sunny smile.

“Let your smile change the world. Don’t let the world change your smile.” – Will Smith

“The greatest self is a peaceful smile, that always sees the world smiling back.” – Bryant H. mcGill

“if you have only one smile in you, give it to the people you love.” – Maya Angelou

“Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.” – Mother Theresa

“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” – Dr. Seuss

“A gentle word, a kind look, a good- natured smile can work wonders and accomplish miracles.” – William Hazlitt

“Smile is happiness you’ll find right under your nose.” – Tom Wilson

“A fake smile may fool the crowd, but it will never eases the pain.” – Kelly Brook

That’s it for today! Let’s take care, turn that frown upside down, and SMILE !💞

November 22 – Faith

November 22, 2021November 22, 2021 by annemariedemyen, posted in Wisdom - November 2021

Faith is one of the most powerful gifts we can possess and yet one that we seem to struggle with our entire lives. Personally, I tend to access this power when things are either great in my life or when they are terrible. When things are great, it is relatively easy to have faith. When things are terrible, it takes more effort to have faith but having attained that mindset, the results can be nothing short of miraculous. I have seen the miraculous. Today, I share some ‘words of wisdom’ on faith. I hope they can inspire us all, regardless of our current circumstances.

“Your faith can move mountains and your doubts can create them.” – Unknown

“Faith, it’s all about believing. You don’t know how it will happen. But you know it will.” – Unknown

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

“Let your faith be bigger than your fears.” – Hebrews 13.6

“Sometimes your only available transportation is a leap of faith.” – Margaret Shephard

True faith is not a leap into the dark; It’s a leap into the light.” – Eric Metaxas

“Faith is seeing light with your heart when all your eyes see is darkness.” – Unknown

“That’s the thing about faith. It works.” – Lauren Oliver

That’s it for today, folks! Take care and have a great day.💞

November 16th – Healthy Living

November 16, 2021November 16, 2021 by annemariedemyen, posted in Wisdom - November 2021

I started my day with a trip to our local pharmacy to get my third Covid shot and my annual flu shot. I had my pneumonia shot a few weeks ago and just finished a bottle of antibiotics. Bottom line, I should dodge any nasty bugs that are out and about this winter. 🧖

Everyone has their own level of health and fitness and we all have our own challenges in preserving or improving it. Hopefully, these ‘words of wisdom’ can inspire us all to make some healthy life choices today.

“The groundwork for all happiness is good health.”
– Leigh Hunt

“Love yourself enough to live a healthy lifestyle.”
– Unknown

“The best investment you ever make is your own health.”
– Unknown

“The food you eat can be either the safest and most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison.”
– Ann Wigmore

“He who has health has hope, and he who has hope has everything.”
– Unknown

” Health is much more dependent on our habits and nutrition than on medicine.”
– John Lubbock

“Exercise not only changes your body, it changes your mind, your attitude, and your mood.”
– Unknown

“Take care of your body. Its the only place you have to live.”
– Jim Rohn

That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! 💞

August 31st – Celebrating Gratitite

August 31, 2021August 31, 2021 by annemariedemyen, posted in gratitude - August 2021

It is the last day of August and thus the last day of my tribute to Gratitude. This has been a great month for me! I have enjoyed writing each and every post. I thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated each and every visit, like, and comment received. I love this sense of community that is WordPress! 💞

For this final chapter on Gratitude, I will once again turn to quotes from the wise! My appreciation to them for putting into words what I truly believe.

Be thankful for what you have; you will end up having more. If you concentrate on what you do not have, you will never have enough.
– Oprah Winfrey

When we focus on our gratitude, the tide of disappointment goes out, and the tide of love rushes in.
– Kirsten Armstrong

Gratitude opens the door to …the power, the wisdom, the creativity of the Universe. You open the door through gratitude.
– Deepak Chopra

Gratitude is the single most important ingredient to living a successful and fulfilling life.
– Jack Canfield

Reflect upon your present blessings of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes of which all men have some.
– Charles Dickens

Showing gratitude is one of the simplest yet most powerful things humans can do for each other.
– Randy Pausch

Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies…those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world.
– John Milton

When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.
– Gilbert Chesterton

I hope you have enjoyed your visits to my blog this month, as I have enjoyed sharing it!

Tomorrow a new month begins and with the new month I will be kicking off a new theme. I am going to be going in a totally different direction. We will have to see how that goes. 😂

Have a great day! Take care and I hope to see you tomorrow. 💞

August 13th – Neighbours

August 13, 2021August 13, 2021 by annemariedemyen, posted in gratitude - August 2021

Dan worked the night shift last night. Everything seemed fine. Kat and I had a quiet evening until we headed off to bed at about eleven. At twelve thirty our doorbell rang and Kat hopped off the bed in a frenzy.

I followed Kat to the livingroom. As soon as I glanced out the window, I realized our Jeep was running. I have no idea why, but I suspect it has a wiring issue or some demonic possession happening. I looked out to our front steps and saw a big man standing on the landing. It could have been Dan – or our neighbour Liam, or possibly some random serial killer. I couldn’t tell. He saw me and pointed to our Jeep. Charades isn’t my strong point so I finally gave up and opened the front door. Fortunately, it was Liam. 🤗 Totally fortunate that it was not the random serial killer. 🥳 He told me that our Jeep had been running for quite some time and he had come to check on us. He offered to go shut it off if I would use the key fob to open the door for him. I did. He did. It was all good. 😁

I am so grateful that we have Liam for a neighbour. We do not know him well, but we chat from time to time and I know he is someone I could reach out to if I ever needed to.

We are fortunate that we have two kind and thoughtful neighbours on our block. There is Liam, his wife and their two adorable little girls who live two doors south of us, and there is Kim and her young exuberant son Kingston who live two doors north of us. Both are the kind of neighbours that anyone would want to have.

Having good neighbours is something I really appreciate and something I doubt that I will ever take for granted. Over the years, I have had a few neighbours who were great people and became good friends. 😊

I have also had a number of those ‘other’ neighbours who make us really appreciate the good ones! I didn’t think it could get worse than one neighbour I had in North Battleford. That was the guy who tried hitting on me as I was walking past his house. I was nine months pregnant, had a toddler and a tot in tow – and he was throwing up over the railing on his front steps. “Nope. I do not want to party.” 😳

Then we had members from a violent gang living next to us. The only thing worse than the noisy parties were the drug deals that went down in front of our house. The day after a couple of their guests got into a fight and ran into my car, they toodled off to a new neighbourhood. 🙂

The neighbour that bothered me the most was a miserable older man who lived next door to us. If I was outside working on a project in our yard, he would be sitting in his half-ton, on his driveway, adjacent to our yard. He would stare at me the entire time I worked. When I finished my task at hand, he would call me over to his truck to critique (criticize) my work. If I did not come out of our house to work on our yard, he would frequently storm over, pound on our door, and indignantly tell me what I should be doing outside. We went to his funeral a few years ago. I was not sad to lose him as a neighbour, but I was really sad that anyone would waste their life trying to control how others lived theirs. 😥

Anyway, I digress. This blog is about Liam and the neighbours I am, or have been, grateful for. Thank you, Liam! If I never have the opportunity to pay back your kindness, I promise that one day I shall pay it forward. 💞

Have a great day. Take care and I will see you tomorrow! 💞

May your neighbours respect you, troubles neglect you, angels protect you, and Heaven accept you.
– Irish Blessing

Day 27 – In His Own Mind

June 27, 2021June 27, 2021 by annemariedemyen, posted in Uncategorized

Day 27 of my June ‘Accentuate the Positive’ Challenge. I couldn’t get through this month without devoting one day to Dan. He is my husband, my best friend, and a definite positive in my life!

I hope you enjoy these photos from Dan’s phone. I think nothing says so much about a person as the pictures they carry with them.

Bonzai trees at Devonshire University of Alberta gardens outside of Edmonton.

That day Genie got her ladybug tattoo to match Grandpa’s – the one he got for his ‘**ladybug**‘ Genie.

Dan’s late Aunt Helen and his Aunt Ethel. **Amazing, strong** women. Aunt Helen raised three deaf sons and two daughters. She was predeceased by her husband, two sons, one daughter, and a son-in-law. She lived on smart, capable, and independent until she was ninety-five. Aunt Ethel is one of those women I aspire to be. She is **always** peaceful, happy and so very kind. Two very special ladies!

Garden produce last summer. That Silent Sam was **pure** hot. The carrots were just very affectionate.

Garage spider ‘Fred’ (he lived there **forever**)

Five hundred year old Mystic Oak at Souris, MB.

The old and the new Souris Swinging Bridge. One of those times when **new** is definitely much better.

Hopefully he was going through a car wash but since he **always** hand washes our vehicles I am thinking he was driving to work through this. 😳🥺🙄

I hope you enjoyed Dan’s photos. It was pretty difficult to narrow his gallery down to these few but I think these ones do say a lot about him.

Twenty seven days down and only three more days to go! I (kind of) can’t believe I have made it this far.

Wishing all a delightful Sunday and I hope to see you tomorrow. 💞

Day 22 – Words of Wisdom

June 22, 2021June 22, 2021 by annemariedemyen, posted in Uncategorized

It is the twenty-second day of my June ‘Accent the Positive’ challenge. Today I decided to share some of my favourite quotes by the masters – they are positively brilliant, beautiful, and inspiring words of wisdom.

Raise your words, not your voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.
– Rumi

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
– Oliver Wendell Holmes

Those who bring sunshine to others, cannot keep it from themselves.
– James M. Barrie

Do not wish to be anything but what you are, and try to be that perfectly.
– St. Francis De Sales

Celebrate what you want to see more of.
– Tom Peters

If every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its loveliness.
– St. Therese of Lisieux

You will rise by lifting others.
– Robert Green Ingersoll

What’s going on the inside shows on the outside.
– Earl Nightengale

That is all for today! Twenty two days down, only eight more days to go.

Have a beautiful day! I hope to see you tomorrow! 🥀

Day 15 – Smile 😊

June 15, 2021June 15, 2021 by annemariedemyen, posted in Uncategorized

Today is the fifteenth day of my June ‘Accentuate the Positive’ challenge! To hit the halfway mark, what could be more appropriate than sharing a few smiles among friends?

That is it folks! Fifteen down fifteen to go. 🥳

Wherever you are, whatever you do, I hope you have something to smile about today. 🙂 See you tomorrow!

Day 2 – Pawsitively Adorable

June 2, 2021June 6, 2021 by annemariedemyen, posted in Uncategorized

I couldn’t get too deep into my June ‘Accent the Positive’ challenge without sharing some moments with our precious Cavalier Kat. Our lives would not be the same without her. 💞

When Dan and I decided (ok Dan agreed😂) to get another dog, I wanted something small and manageable. Dan wanted a ‘real dog – not a pocket-size accessory’. We decided on a Cavalier – sight unseen. When I picked her up, she was so tiny. She could fit in the palm of my hand. I was a little leary about Dan’s reaction to her size, but she snuck right into his heart – and she quickly grew into a fair size dog (15kg.)